Playoff Preview: Seattle Seahawks

Offensive MVP: WR Mike Williams

No running back on the Seahawks rushed for more than 600 yards, and Matt Hasselbeck had one of his worst years of his career, so by default Mike Williams is this team’s offensive MVP. If it weren’t for Michael Vick, Williams would likely be the comeback player of the year. Williams had more receiving yards this year than his first 3 years in the league combined. Considering he hasn’t played in a game since 2007 prior to this season, that is quite an accomplishment. Pete Carrol saw something in his former player during his days at USC, and if he didn’t take a chance on Williams, his NFL career would likely be finished. It is nice to see someone who almost threw their career away comeback to really help their team out. If it weren’t for Williams, this team doesn’t make it to the playoffs.

Defensive MVP: DE Chris Clemons

With a career high 11 sacks, Clemons put in a great performance this year. While the rest of the defense was busy giving up chunks of yards, Clemons was constantly putting pressure on opposing QB’s and came to play every game. He is proving to the Eagles that it was a mistake to let him go, and with the Seahawks rebuilding defense, there is one position that the Seahawks don’t have to worry about.

Best Win: Week 17 - Against the St. Louis Rams

You can say all you want about the Seahawks 7-9 record, but at least they didn’t back into the playoffs. Facing a do or die situation in the last week of the season, the Seahawks defeated a decent Rams team. It was the much maligned defense that stepped up in the game, holding the Rams to only 2 field goals. It was uncertain whether a team that had given up 15 of more points in each of its losses could handle the pressure of what was essentially a playoff game, but they took care of business and now have a home playoff game as a reward.

Rookie Grade: B+

With 2 early first round picks, the Seahawks had a great opportunity to infuse young talent into this team. It looks like they have succeeded with S Earl Thomas and LT Russell Okung. Okung has been limited to 10 games with injuries, but is healthy now and looks like their LT of the future. Earl Thomas, who many people thought to be the most NFL ready player, put in a solid rookie campaign with 5 interceptions. There is always a lot of pressure on a team that has early first round picks to avoid busts, and it looks like the Seahawks have done just that with Okung and Thomas.

How Can They Make It To The Super Bowl: Perfect Play and Luck

The Seahawks aren’t embarrassed to be in the playoffs nor should they be. No playoff system is perfect and if 7-9 teams were making the postseason every year then a change would obviously be needed, but there is no need to overact to what seems to be a fluke occurrence. The NFC West has a lot of young talent, and there’s no reason they can’t dramatically improve in the upcoming years. With that being said, reaching the Super Bowl is going to be a Cinderella task for the Seahawks. Neither their offense nor defense is very good, and they play terrible football on the road. They might be able to pull off a tremendous upset against the Saints this weekend, but it’s hard to think this team can beat either the Falcons or Bears on the road. If they were to make it to the Super Bowl it might be the most improbable story in recent memory, but I just can’t envision that happening.